I reviewed this last year for PopCultureShock: “There are some strong character moments throughout the story as the morality of the show is debated, and of suicide itself, but the overall tone is somewhat didactic as [Buddy] Scalera clearly favors one side of the argument, and too much of his peripheral dialogue feels forced and unnatural. The artwork improves dramatically between the first issue and the final two, as Dennis Budd is a noticeably better artist than Nick Diaz, whose stiff characters and low budget backgrounds give the first issue an unnecessarily amateurish feel. All in all, 7 Days to Fame is a noteworthy effort that suggests both Scalera and Budd are talents to keep an eye on. (2.5 out of 5 Surreal Lifers)”

DARK HORSE COMICS
Star Wars Legacy #7, $2.99

No blogiverse controversies here as John Ostrander and Jan Duursema deliver the goods on the best Star Wars-related tie-in since “working” lightsabers.

Ostrander’s “Grotesk” fill-in concludes, as does Batman‘s short-term return to my pull list. With the “Mad Monk” mini about to conclude, too, I’m down to only Detective Comics for my regular Bat-fix, and that one’s on the chopping block, too. *** My enthusiasm for Fallen Angel has waned a bit, partly because of outside circumstances that have found the last few issues getting buried in my to-read pile (and partly for Peter David again hinting at some connection to his Supergirl run that holds no interest for me), but I still plan to pick up the TPBs collecting the original run at some point. *** Green Lantern Corps got the axe an issue or two back as my tolerance for marginal titles has lessened dramatically over the past six months, especially when it comes to the Big Two. *** Batman vs. The Predator was one of the first comics I dug out of the back issue boxes when I started buying comics again, back in 2003, so there’s a bit of pseudo-nostalgic appeal to Superman Batman Vs Aliens Predators that might be enough to get me to pick it up. (Interestingly, DC notes that it’s “co-published with Dark Horse Comics”, which I didn’t realize.)

DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
GI Joe Americas Elite #19, $2.99

I’m honestly surprised that G.I. Joe (and its myriad spin-offs) is still on my pull list, but it’s been genuinely entertaining since the most recent relaunch.

IMAGE COMICS
Meltdown #2 (Of 2), $5.99
Strange Girl #13, $3.50

Hopefully Meltdown gets a collected TPB because the first issue had some potential, but a two-issue mini-series featuring an unknown character by relatively unknown creators is a tough sell and will have no shelf-life beyond its initial release. *** Strange Girl was my “Best Ongoing Series of 2006” and not enough people are reading it, ensuring they will share her fate of living in hell on Earth.

If you skipped Iron Fist #1 the first time around because it was, well, Iron Fist, here’s your chance to rectify your mistake as Marvel offers up a legitimate 2nd printing of an underordered gem. *** I really enjoyed Fabian Nicieza’s old school, character-driven run on The New Thunderbolts, but I have no interest in this new Civil War-revamped incarnation by Warren Ellis. Penance is an interesting concept for a character, but I have no faith in Marvel’s ability to pull it off.